Reed musical instrument



UNITED su@ 'PATENT ernten.

. GEORGE WOODS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

REED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent N o. 28,230, dated May 8, 1860i To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE IITooDs, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Melodions or Reed Musical Instruments of Like Character, and do hereby declare the same to be fully described and represented in the following specication and the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l, is a side elevation and Fig. '2, a longitudinal section of a melodion key and my invention applied to the reed of such key.

The nature of my invention consists in the application of a pressure escapement to the reed and key in order that the reed may be simply pressed back without any blow or percussive force, and afterward be set free and suffered to vibrate and this at or during the opening of the reed valve by the key. Also, in the combination termed the pressure escapement.

In the drawings, A denotes the key, B, the reed, C, the reed frame or carrier, and D, the reed valve. From the said valve an arm a, extends at a right angle and is notched at its rear end to receive the upper end of a fly or pitman, whose lower end is jointed to a slider, c, that rests on the rear end or part of the key. The act of striking the key will force the slider upward and cause the valve to open or move oftn its seat within the wind exhaust chamber, E. A spring (Z, serves to return the valve to its seat.

Directly in front of the reed or tongue B, there is a pin or slider, e, which is supported in a bar, M, so as to be capable of sliding toward and against the reed as well as away from it. This slider has a retractive spring, f, applied to it and a supporting rail, F. At the rear end of the slider, there is a grasshopper or fly, g, which is applied or hinged to a weighted lever, z., whose fulcrum is at z'. A regulating screw, 7c, provided with a button, Z, is extended through the fly and into the lever, the fly being forced up to the button bv a spring, mi, the whole being arranged as shown in the drawings.

In rear of the fulcrum, z', a lifter, a, is hinged to the lever, 7U, and rests at its foot on a secondary lever, 0, whose fulcrum is at its front end as shown at, p. This lever rests on the head of a screw 7, that project-s upward from the key. The weighted lever,

L, is furnished with two cushioned stops, s, t, arranged as shown in Figs. l, and 2.

Then the key is struck or a blow is given on the rear partl of it so as to depress the same, the result will be not only that the escapement slider, e, will be moved forward against the reed or tongue B, so as to press thereon 'for an instant and while the valve is open, but the fly will escape from the slider and pass below it so as to permit the spring j', to retract the slider or move it away from the reed.

Fig. 3, is an elevation of the action as it appears when the key is down or depressed.

The purpose of the pressure escapement is to produce a sudden or quick and short sounding of the reed at the moment of the opening of its valve. IYith my invention I avoid the jarring or ringing sound of the reed which results when it is struck by a hammer, a sound which is due to percussion alone, and which mingling with the tone of the reed induced by the action of the current of air, is apt to injure such tone, more or less, for with my invention, there is no sudden blow on the reed, resulting from the momentum of a hammer as gradual pressure only is used without such blow.

I do not claim combining with the reed and its key, an apparatus to strike a blow upon the reed or tongue in order to set it in vibration at the time of, or just previous to the valve being opened by the action of the key.

IVhat I claim isd l. The application of a pressure escapement, substantially as described to the reed and key in order that on depression of the key, the reed may be simply pressed upon or actuated without any percussive force or blow and afterward set free and suffered to freely vibrate as specified.

2. I also claim the combination, constituting the pressure escapement and as arranged and applied to the key and the reed substantially as specified, such combination consisting of the above described spring slider, e, the fly or grasshopper g, the weighted lever t, and the lifting devices n, 0, thereof, or

their equivalent. A

GEORGE VOODS.

IVitnesses R. I-I. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr. 

